Escape boredom this summer by getting involved in an exciting project

St Helens Council is calling on young people across the borough to get creative this summer by helping shape the design of an Escape Room – a real-life game – in St Helens Central Library.

As part of St Helens Council’s Arts Council Funded Cultural Hubs – Arts in Libraries Programme, the project, coordinated by digital arts collective Re-Dock, has already seen pupils from Penkford School get involved in the creation of the ‘St Helens vs the Lizards’ escape room by spending two days at Central Library designing puzzles and interior design, along with programming design ideas using Raspberry pies and digital technologies.

So what exactly is an escape room?  An escape room is a real-life game which requires players to work together to solve hidden puzzles, use their intuition, teamwork skills and intelligence to literally escape from the room which they have been locked in.

St Helens Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, Councillor Andy Bowden, said: “St Helens vs the Lizards is a fantastically innovative and creative project for St Helens.  Creating an escape room in the middle of our Central Library space is an exciting opportunity and a new and innovative way to engage people who might otherwise think that the arts is not for them.

“It’s great that pupils from Penkford School have already been involved in helping to design the space and I challenge any young people with a flair for creativity to come down to Central Library and help us to continue the design of the space.”

There are two dates when young people can get involved for FREE in workshops to help create ideas, puzzles and concepts for the space. These are both being held at St Helens Central Library on Friday 31 July and Saturday 8 August, between 11am and 3pm – no need to book, just turn up!

The St Helens vs The Lizards escape room will be open in St Helens Central Library between Saturday 15 and 29 August. One hour sessions for the escape room can be booked online for FREE at www.culturalhubs.eventbrite.co.uk – places are available to book soon.